Brain cells named for stars are finally getting their time to shine. Three distinct studies, published May 15 in Science, show that astrocytes, once thought of as support cells, powerfully shape how ...

Every stroke begins with a sudden interruption of blood flow in the brain. But what happens afterward—why neurons continue to ...

Webs of star-shaped cells called astrocytes connect distant parts of the brain, allowing long-distance exchange of molecules.

Researchers discovered that astrocytes form organized, brain-wide networks that enable long-range communication between regions. These dynamic pathways depend on gap junctions and can reorganize with ...

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder that leads to progressive memory loss and a decline in mental ...

Increased expression of the Ang‐II (Angiotensin II) precursor AGT in aged astrocytes lead to increased Ang‐II signaling from aged astrocytes to endothelium, thus increasingblood–brain barrier (BBB) ...

Resting brain stem cells hardly differ from normal astrocytes, which support the nerve cells in the brain. How can almost identical cells perform such different functions? The key lies in the ...

Astrocytes are star shaped cells that make up around 35% of human brain cells. They were once thought of as cells that simply supported neurons in the central nervous system (CNS). But in recent years ...

Cells long thought to play a secondary role in brain function build their own far-reaching connections, a new study in mice showed. These pathways appear to connect distant regions in ways that have ...

Resting brain stem cells hardly differ from normal astrocytes, which support the nerve cells in the brain. How can almost identical cells perform such different functions? The key lies in the ...

A growing body of research suggests astrocytes, star-shaped brain cells once dismissed as support players, may lead the way to more precise and effective psychiatric drugs. This fluorescent microscope ...